1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to printers and, in particular, to systems and methods for providing secure printing while utilizing printers remote from the workstations from which the printing was requested.
2. Description of the Related Art
The proliferation of computer networking has rendered it commonplace for a user to enter, download and/or, otherwise, utilize information at a workstation, and then, when the information is designated to be printed, print the information at a site remote from that workstation. Oftentimes, however, the nature of the data to be printed lends itself to being printed in a secure environment where the ability of someone other than the user to retrieve the printed data should be minimized. Heretofore, in order to ensure that someone other than the user is unable to retrieve the user's printed document(s) from a printer, the user typically must request that data be printed, such as by the use of a typical printer driver, and then walk to the printer so that no one else is able to retrieve the printed document. However, if the user is unable to be available at the printer prior to the document being printed, the printed document may be retrieved by someone other than the user.
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods which address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.